It's Kinda Like A Love Song
by Lauren Eliza
Summary: Lucas and Peyton finally confront their messy history. LP oneshot.


Peyton was curled on her side on the couch, flipping through a photo album from their high school days. She smiled at silly shots of herself and Brooke, laughed at one of her kissing Nathan, and reached out to lightly stroke the surface of a photo of a solitary Lucas. Lucas Scott. The boy who had always saved her. The boy who should be home any minute to greet her, who she couldn't wait to see. She could hear his car pulling into the driveway, even over the blaring music inside the house. She dropped the album and ran outside to greet him. He picked her up and swung her around for a kiss.

"Hey, Blondie," he said happily. "What's the occasion?"

"None needed," Peyton replied with a laugh. "Just because we're here together. And because you're saving me again, from my hunger!"

Laughing, the two of them walked back into the house, telling stories of their days and the events that had occurred while they were both at work. Over dinner, Peyton told Lucas about her fun with the photo album and he laughed at the thought of her reliving high school all by herself.

"Don't you know that that's what ten-year reunions are for?" he teased.

"Oh shut up!" she said. "We've only been out of high school for five years and I miss it sometimes. It was so much easier, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Lucas said, kissing the top of her head. "Let's go dig out my albums too, shall we?"

As they pored over several of Lucas' albums, going back even further to examine memories of the time before they knew each other, they discovered how much fun it was. Peyton rolled off the couch and retrieved another album from the back of the bookcase, a smaller black one she hadn't noticed before. Lucas was absorbed in pictures of himself, his mother and Keith, and didn't notice what she had picked up. Peyton flipped the album open to the middle, curious as to what it contained, and suddenly wished that she hadn't. There was a picture of Lindsey and Lucas smiling out at her. Peyton closed the album, then opened it again to another page at random. Lindsey smiling, wearing only a bathrobe. Lucas and Lindsey with a copy of his first novel. Lucas and Lindsey in New York. Peyton shut the album with an audible snap and stalked out of the room.

It was several minutes before Lucas realized that she was gone.

"Peyt?" he questioned, looking around for her. That's when he saw the album lying on the floor.

"Oh no," he said under his breath. He got up quickly, and immediately located her sitting on the porch steps, her body language speaking of anger and outrage.

"Peyton," he said quietly as he approached her. She turned to face him, and he was stunned to see tears pouring down her face.

"You said they were all gone," she said accusingly.

"I know, I just," he began, but she cut him off again.

"You just what? Just wanted to keep them in case you made the wrong choice? In case she wrote a book about how much she loved you and you went running back to her the same stupid way that I did?"

"What are you saying?" Lucas asked. He hadn't seen Peyton this angry in a long time, and it scared him. She was furious, and reckless in her rage.

"I'm saying that I can't believe you had the nerve to tell me that you wanted to be with me, and that I believed you!"

"I do want to be with you, Peyton!" Lucas shouted.

"Then why do you still have pictures of Lindsey?" she asked sadly.

"You know what? Brooke asked me the same thing once, about pictures of you! Because I had them, because I had always loved you! And I had pictures of you while I was with Lindsey too, because even then you were always on my mind!"

"That doesn't prove anything, Lucas! If anything, it only proves that you've treated me no better than Brooke or Lindsey. What have any of us ever done to deserve your crap? Keeping pictures of old girlfriends in special little albums, little sad boxes as Brooke used to call them?"

"I don't understand. You have pictures of you and Nathan in your album, Peyton, so what are you trying to prove?"

"That is so not the same thing!" Peyton exclaimed. "Nathan and I were together, sure, but we all know it never really meant anything. We never loved each other. And I have one picture that indicates anything more than friendship between us, and it's out in the open with all of my others, not hidden away like some dirty little secret."

"Okay, fine, I'll get rid of the pictures. Will that make you happy?" Lucas asked desperately.

"No! What will make me happy is the same thing it has always been. You're supposed to make me happy, Lucas Scott. But instead you spend most of your time tearing my heart to shreds."

"Peyton," he said again, feeling completely useless in the face of her indignation.

"Will you just listen to me!" she shouted. When he held up his hands in surrender, she glared at him before continuing.

"This isn't even about the pictures, Luke," she said. "I should have said this a long time ago, but I was too scared to lose you again. I couldn't hesitate when you called me from the airport, because the last time I said "someday" you took it as a no and tore me apart for years before this chance came around again. So I said yes, because I still loved you. Because I love you. But we went through way too much before that happened, and it shouldn't have happened so fast.

"But I wanted to be with you, I wanted everything to be good for us again," Lucas said in bewilderment, not understanding how that could be taken wrongly.

"I know, baby," Peyton said, her voice softening at last. "But look at us. We went through so much crap to get together senior year and we thought we were happy at last. And then you proposed to me, misinterpreted my answer, and we didn't see each for years. Then when I came back, everything was impossible awkward between us, but the whole time you were writing a book about our love. Then Lindsey left you at the altar, and I was the one who had to feel guilty about it. It got a little better, though not much, until you eventually told me that you hated me and that I ruined your life. So I went and wrote some lyrics on the River Court, you proposed, and I accepted, and here we are. Do you see how messed up that is?"

Staring at her in silence, Lucas thought about she had just said. Maybe she was right. He knew that he loved her, always had and always would, but she was right. There was something messed up with the whole situation.

"Does this mean you want to call off the wedding?" Lucas asked her apprehensively.

"No, of course not!" Peyton said in exasperation. "I just wanted to get that all off of my chest, and I wanted you to know that we can't just keep pretending like none of it ever happened. I do love you, Lucas. Don't ever doubt that. But I think we should keep talking about this, maybe without the shouting next time, until we both feel completely comfortable with our long, messy history."

Lucas tentatively reached for her hand, and she gave it to him, allowing herself to be pulled up and into his embrace. It shouldn't feel so right, Peyton thought to herself, but it did. It always had, and that was why she kept coming back to him despite it all. It just felt so right.

"I'm sorry," Lucas whispered as he held her tightly. "I'm so sorry for everything that I've done that has hurt you. I swear I'll do better from now on, because I don't want you to ever hurt again, and especially not because of me."

"I'm sorry for yelling," Peyton said.

"It's okay," Lucas murmured.

And it would be okay. The gap had been bridged, the first move had been made. It would get easier to deal with in time. And they had all the time in the world, to be together. To be better together.


End file.
